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Film: Directed by Ken Russell. 1975. Starred: The Who, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Kieth Moon, Anne-Margret, Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Elton John, Paul Nicholas, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner.
Soundtrack on Polydor Records. The Overture from Tommy was released as a single in 1975 and was not on the original record. The CD release has restored the Overture and added some additional material not on the original vinyl release. The soundtrack was a success, the film bombed.
The film has Tommy's father (Robert Powell) murdered by the Lover, Frank (Oliver Reed). There is a good argument for this. From Young Tommy's point of view, Frank is the only father he's ever known -surrogate or not. The film then takes the shape of Townshend's original plot... with a few tweaks here and there. Several new songs were written. None of them appear in the stage version.
Stage: Broadway 1993. Directed by Des McAnnuff. Cast consisted of Michael Cerveris, Paul Kandall and others. Wonn several Tony Awards. One for Pete Townshend.
The ploot stays true to the original Who record, but expands the plot a little. The story is loosely based on Townshend's own life. In the stage version, the "sacrifice" is switched back to the father killing the lover.
New material was written (The Overture is now 8 minutes long). New songs: "I Believe My Own Eyes" for the parents and "Sally's Questyion" is for Sally Simpson seeking answers from her idol, Tommy.
You should see both.
Andy.
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